café benefits
by thefallfiles
Summary: Rick and Kate had always done this, for as long as she could remember. They'd go to their favourite little hole-in-the-wall cafe and then just trudge the streets until the sun came up. Kate and Rick are best friends who over step that line of 'just friends' into 'friends with benefits' and it ruins everything that they know.


**an: posted a few fics over the last few weeks, check them out. constructive criticism is welcome.**

 **wrote this to fill the time before I update '** ** _come back to me'_** **and '** ** _surrender'._**

 **no auto-correct, apologies for errors. x**

 **ITS NEARLY 2.30 AM MY BRAIN IS LIQUID.**

* * *

Kate slid along the red leather, shoving a copy of today's paper further down the couch and patted the empty space beside her. Picking up the menu in front of them and scanning the list of various burger and sandwich choices, which was pointless, because she got the same thing _every single time_ they came here.

A young woman appeared at the edge of their booth; holding a tablet in front of her as she waited patiently for their orders, pen poised with a piercing white smile and deep green eyes focused on them. Just as the blonde opened her mouth, Rick spoke quietly yet firmly. "We'll have the double cheeseburger deluxe meal with a chocolate thickshake," she then turned to Kate, her head tilted to the side as she observed her.

"-She'll have the club sandwich with rye bread, extra fries on the side and a strawberry milkshake," Rick sidled a glance her way "Oh, and extra cream." He added.

The woman nodded, her name-tag glinting as she turned away from them to put their orders in. Kate waited until Anna was a few feet away, spinning to face him and jamming her elbow into his ribs.

Rick cowered slightly away from her although his eyes maintained their blue coltish spark.

"What the _hell_ was that?!" She fumed, her eyes flashing in vexation.

" _What?!_ " he asked, eyebrows drawing together.

Kate crossed her arms and turned her attenuated figure slightly away from him, immediately missing the warmth that radiated from being in such close proximity to him. Missing the brush of his ankle against hers and the graze of his arm against her shoulder.

Rick tried to stifle a laugh, his fingers pressed to his mouth as Kate attempted to give him the silent treatment. He's known Kate for years - she could go weeks, months without saying a word to you if someones given her enough reason to. But Rick, with him, she'd never been able to go more than a few hours. And that's what had him smirking right now; he knew her and that frustrated her.

After about 5 minutes Kate spoke, her spine still rigid and voice cracked in frustration. "I am able to order my own food, you know." Turning her head slightly, she glanced down at the house menu in front of her. "What if- if I wanted a jalapeno hot dog or a tea?"

Rick laughed. _Tea?_

"Come on Kate, you know as well as I do that tea wouldn't be anywhere on your must have list." He paused, bouncing his foot against the wood underneath the table. "Oh, unless you count the time you had that dry spell wit-"

"R- _ick_!" Her tongue clicked, body twisting around to face him.

Kate turned to face him so quickly that she almost got whiplash, eyes narrowing at him. " _Really?!_ " Eyebrows raised, creases lining at the corners of her eyes.

She always looked harsh, older whenever she scolded him. Maybe it was the sharp lines of her jaw or the hard edges of her cheek bones, or maybe it was just the spotty lighting that they always seemed to be underneath.

Raising a hand, Rick pressed a thumb gently against the plane underneath her eye, smoothing a smudge of grey that was spreading across the black and purple. "How come you can't just admit that I know you? And don't even get me started on Jake." Kate lifted her hand up, just as he cupped her cheek.

"Castle. Stop it."

He was pushing and he knew it. Fall back, don't tip her over the edge, she'll drag you with her and there'll be no hope for the both of you.

Soft fingers gripped his hand, but it could of been worse. Much worse. At least all of his fingers are intact.

Kate pulled his hand down sharply, Rick's elbow connecting with a part of the wooden framework lining the seats. He turned his eyes up to Anna who was bringing over their drinks, a wide broadway smile on her lips, hips swaying from side to side as though she were walking a catwalk.

"Sorry for the wait, we had a problem with the creamer." She bent down, giving Kate - and Rick, a full view of her. Uhm, assets.

Rick laughed, as something popped in his head, rubbing his elbow. "That's funny be-"

"Don't you even dare." Kate shot him a look, her teeth biting the inside of her cheek.

Turning to face Kate, he flashed her an innocent look, widening his eyes and shaking his head. "I wasn't even-" She copied his posture, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips, dark ringlets shaking as her head tossed from side to side.

"You're incorrigible."

"We both know that's why you love me."

* * *

Tucking her arm through his, Kate pulled her jacket closer to her body as they walked through the streets. It was getting late, it was late Kate realised as she looked at an analogue clock resting along the side of a building. _1 am_.

Rick and Kate had always done this, for as long as she could remember. They'd go to their favourite little hole-in-the-wall cafe and then just trudge the streets until the sun came up. But the years were flying by and they couldn't do it all the time - and especially with his _strict_ writing guidelines that his new publisher had him under and her currently in the middle of her third year in criminal justice was getting more and more intense as each lesson passed - they hardly saw each other.

She didn't realise how much she enjoyed having him around until he wasn't really around, anymore. Sometimes Kate wondered if he even noticed not having her around; practically sitting underneath him as she read some foreign magazine and him perusing TIME, like clockwork. Or if he even remembered her dad making them strawberry milkshakes with _extra cream_ of course, and her mother opening the door every 5 seconds, even though Kate had told her at least 12 times that _the door stopper is broken and it swings shut by itself!_ Sometimes she swears everything she says falls on deaf ears.

Just remembering these events had her stomach churning.

 _She missed him._

But how much? In what way? They were friends, right? Best friends.

He knew her favourite colours, her favourite food, what was the quickest way to embarrass her, her birthday, he held her hair back for 12 hours when she had a stomach virus.

 _Oh._

 _Oh no._

Swiveling around on her feet, Kate stopped Rick from progressing forward any further. _He couldn't possibly?_ Her eyes were busy staring at the dark grey of his dress shirt, hand gripping the material tightly in her slightly shaking fingers. She could hear the blood rushing through her head, a loud pounding making her mind fuzzy, her motor skills off centre.

"Kate...whats wrong?" His voice was soft, cautious.

 _Oh god, she's worrying him._

She didn't want that. She just wanted to know what was going on, with him, with her - with them. But Kate _didn't-_ she didn't actually want him to know... when she didn't even know herself.

Looking up at him, Kate forced a small smile, the deep green of her irises sparkling from the illuminating light of a street lamp beside them. "I have a time magazine at my place," she started. The creases in between his eyebrows slackened, emotions flickering from the surface of his face as he took in what she was telling him. "- and a whole box of mixed chocolates, you up for it?"

"Always." He grinned, mirroring the identical flash of white that was encompassing her features.


End file.
